Dozens of Clovis Community staff were joined by a crowd of Clovis city officials, board members, committee members, architects and Clark construction workers to witness the historical event.

Clovis Community chief executive Craig Castro climbed into the excavator and made the first impact to the old administration wing. The building will be fully demolished within the next few days, so construction of a new five-story, 122,235-square-foot bed tower can begin.

“This is a landmark day,” said Community Medical Centers chief executive Tim Joslin. “It is a vision that is becoming a reality.”

The new five-story bed tower will nearly double the hospital’s capacity to 205 private rooms and will make Clovis Community the first full-service hospital in the region to have all private beds.

A rendering of the new, five-story bed tower that will nearly double the hospital's capacity.

“I am excited for the private rooms for my patients,” said interventional radiologist Jeff Saavedra. “It’s a great day for Clovis Community Medical Center because the community needs a larger hospital.”

In addition to the new bed tower, the expansion project also will add a 38-bed emergency department, a dedicated women’s pavilion, a special care nursery, 11 high-tech surgical suites and a multi-level parking structure.

“Today is a celebration of all the hard work people have put into this project,” said Dr. Michael Synn, medical director of the Clovis Community Fertility Center and chairman of the Clovis Executive Committee. He said the expansion will significantly benefit the emergency department and the new inpatient tower will fill a big need for the community.

It was announced the expansion will ultimately create about 4,000 new jobs for construction workers and 600 new hospital jobs, averaging a salary of $86,000 per year.

“This project helps stimulate the economy in such a difficult time and creates a lot of well-paying jobs,” Joslin said. “You won’t find a better hospital in the state once this expansion is done.”